Belarusian general urges Warsaw to let Belarusian military inspectors visit Poland

February 20, Pozirk. Belarus is open to cooperation with Warsaw, Maj. Gen. Valeryj Ravienka of the defense ministry’s international department has told journalists from the state-run media outlets.
“We are taking steps to establish dialogue and consensus to resolve all pressing issues near our borders,” Ravienka said, citing a recent notification under the Vienna Document of Minsk’s readiness to hold events on regional confidence- and security-building measures.
Belarus would design its defense strategy based on Warsaw’s response regarding the planned events, Ravienka claimed, noting a major geopolitical shift following a change in the US policy under the Donald Trump administration.
Minsk welcomes efforts to negotiate peace in Ukraine, yet is less optimistic about current developments in Europe, he added.
He alluded to Poland’s mistrust for its eastern neighbor, citing the opening of a NATO missile defense base last year and the expansion of Polish armed forces. However, Minsk is ready for “a negotiation processes,” visits to military units, information exchange and reciprocal inspections both in Belarus and Poland up to 80 kilometers deep from the shared border, he stressed.
This would enable Belarus to ascertain Poland’s peaceful aspirations, find compromises, establish good neighborly relations and make sure that Poland does not build up forces for an attack on the Union State of Belarus and Russia, Ravienka said.
If Warsaw refuses to engage, Belarus will design its military and other policies “based on this result,” he warned.
The Vienna Document, to which Belarus is a party, requires the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) member states to exchange information on their armed forces, weapons and defense planning, among other things.
In 2022, Minsk made a presumably false claim that the Belarusian-Russian “Union Resolve” exercise, held from February 10 to 20 in Belarus, involved less than 13,000 troops. Four days after its conclusion, a 20,000-strong Russian force attacked Ukraine from Belarus, Alaksandar Łukašenka revealed. Ukrainian sources said that a 70,000-strong Russian contingent attacked Ukraine from Belarus.
Belarus limited contacts with European countries under the Vienna Document after the 2020 disputed presidential election and suspended cooperation after the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which was backed by authorities in Minsk.
Since 2020, Minsk reported only one verification event in Belarus under the Vienna Document—Serbian officers inspected the Brest-based 38th Detached Guards Air Assault Brigade in June 2024.
Also read: Belarusian unit inspected by foreigners first time in four years
- Society
- PoliticsKyiv reveals names of over 700 Belarusians who fight on Russian sideThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- Economy, PoliticsOfficial blames sanctions for lack of logging equipment spare partsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, Security
- Politics
- PoliticsDeputy prime minister Karanik arrives in ChinaThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SocietyTrain crew quickly contains blaze at Pahodzina stationThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- Politics
- PoliticsBelarus to open consulate general in Tatarstan for six Russian regionsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsReprisals: admin accused of filming Russian military hardwareThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityRussian-born Butraniec appointed as deputy chairman of State Border CommitteeThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityLithuania, Latvia report a spike in irregular border crossing attemptsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyBelarusian steelmaker scales back output to maintain profitabilityThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Society
- PoliticsBelarus' FM accuses the West of impeding development of other countriesThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- Economy
- EconomyBelarus to raise subsistence minimum budget on May 1The material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsOpposition politician slams prison sentences against Kalinoŭski fighters as revengeThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SocietyGovernment allows hunting bears, lynxesThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityJournalists expose Belarusian company’s links with Russian defense industryThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsRights groups declare seven new political prisonersThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsReprisals: jailed activist Kaleśnikava turns 43The material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityMinsk court sentences five Belarusian volunteer fighters to lengthy prison termsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SocietyMore than 17,000 Belarusians visited Georgia in Q1The material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityArmy battalion conducting offensive exercise near AsipovičyThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy
- PoliticsUN experts sound alarm over forced psychiatric treatment of Belarusian dissidentsThe material is available only to POZIRK+